Arsenal close to signing £16m centre-back

New Arsenal manager Unai Emery appears to be making an immediate impact in the transfer window as reports suggest the Gunners are already closing in on a new centre-back.

The former-Paris Saint-Germain boss was only announced as Arsene Wenger’s replacement last Wednesday.

Arsenal had several defensive issues in their final season under the long-serving manager, finishing down in sixth. Emery appears to want to make his first signing a centre-back as the BBC are reporting that Arsenal are close to signing Borussia Dortmund’s Sokratis Papastathopoulos for £16 million.

The Greek international is in the final year of his contract at Signal Iduna Park and the Bundesliga side could be forced to sell the 29-year-old this summer as a result.

Papastathopoulos could join former Dortmund teammates Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan who both only joined the North London club back in January.

The centre-back has been a regular in the Borussia Dortmund defence for the past five seasons following his arrival from fellow Bundesliga side Werder Bremen.